Earlylife

　　CristianoRonaldodosSantosAveirowasbornon5February1985inFunchal,Madeira,theyoungestchildofMariaDoloresdosSantosAveiroandJos茅DinisAveiro.Hissecondgivenname,"Ronaldo,"waschosenafterthen-U.S.presidentRonaldReagan,whowashisfather'sfavouriteactor.Hehasoneolderbrother,Hugo,andtwooldersisters,ElmaandLilianaC谩tia.

　　Clubcareer

　　Earlycareer

　　Attheageofeight,RonaldoplayedforamateurteamAndorinha,wherehisfatherwasthekitman.In1995,RonaldosignedwithlocalclubCDNacional,and,afteratitle-winningcampaign,hewentonathree-daytrialwithSportingCP,whosubsequentlysignedhimforanundisclosedsum.

　　SportingCP

　　RonaldojoinedSporting'sotheryouthplayerswhotrainedattheAlcochete,theclub'sfootballacademy.HebecametheonlyplayerevertoplayforSporting'sU-16,U-17,U-18,B-team,andfirstteam,allwithinoneseason.HescoredtwogoalsinhisSportingdebutagainstMoreirense,whilefeaturingforPortugalintheUEFAUnder17Championships.

　　Whenhewas15,Ronaldowasdiagnosedwitharacingheart,aconditionthatmighthaveforcedhimtogiveupplayingfootball.TheSportingstaffweremadeawareoftheconditionandRonaldo'smothergaveherauthorisationforhimtogointohospital.Whilethere,hehadanoperationinwhichalaserwasusedtocauterisetheareaofhisheartthatwascausingtheproblem.ThesurgerytookplaceinthemorningandRonaldowasdischargedfromhospitalbytheendoftheafternoon;heresumedtrainingonlyafewdayslater.

　　Hewasfirstspottedbythen-LiverpoolmanagerG茅rardHoullierat16,butLiverpooldeclinedtotakehimonbecausetheydecidedhewastooyoungandneededsometimetodevelophisskills.However,hecametotheattentionofManchesterUnitedmanagerAlexFergusoninthesummerof2003,whenSportingdefeatedUnited3鈥?intheinaugurationoftheEst谩dioJos茅AlvaladeinLisbon.Ronaldo'sperformanceimpressedtheManchesterUnitedplayers,whourgedFergusontosignhim.

　　ManchesterUnited

　　2003鈥?005

　　RonaldowithManchesterUnitedRonaldobecameManchesterUnited'sfirst-everPortugueseplayerwhenhesignedfor锟斤拷12.24millionafterthe2002鈥?3season.Herequestedthenumber28(hisnumberatSporting),ashedidnotwantthepressureoflivinguptotheexpectationlinkedtothenumber7shirt,whichhadpreviouslybeenwornbyplayerssuchasGeorgeBest,BryanRobson,EricCantona,andDavidBeckham."AfterIjoined,themanageraskedmewhatnumberI'dlike.Isaid28.ButFergusonsaid'No,you'regoingtohaveNo.7,'andthefamousshirtwasanextrasourceofmotivation.Iwasforcedtoliveuptosuchanhonour."

　　Ronaldomadehisteamdebutasa60th-minutesubstituteina4-0homevictoryoverBoltonWanderers.HescoredhisfirstgoalforManchesterUnitedwithafreekickina3鈥?winoverPortsmouthon1November2003.HescoredUnited'sthousandthPremierLeaguegoalon29October2005ina4鈥?losstoMiddlesbrough.Hescoredtengoalsinallcompetitions,andfansvotedhimtohisfirstFIFProSpecialYoungPlayeroftheYearawardin2005.

　　2006鈥?007

　　InNovemberandDecember2006,RonaldoreceivedconsecutiveBarclaysPlayeroftheMonthhonours,becomingonlythethirdplayerinPremierLeaguehistorytodosoafterDennisBergkampin1997andRobbieFowlerin1996.Hescoredhis50thManchesterUnitedgoal